It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This book was just delightful. The plot was a little lacking, as the villain and their plan was pretty heavily broadcast from the very beginning, However, the characterization was top notch and the detail put into the setting and background more than made up for that. After all it,’s about the journey, not the destination. The fact that this was own voices was super important, and you can really feel the love and detail it provided. The romance was adorable and believable, and the side characters were fully actualized. I would read a book about any one of them. All in all a delight to read!

There is something to be said for reading a book about dead boys falling in love while in the midst of a global pandemic - and I mean that in the best way possible. It also reads like fanfiction, and I mean THAT in the best way possible, too.

Let's be real. When you pick a fanfic, you're there for that sweet, sweet pining. And boy howdy does CEMETERY BOYS have that in spades. It's well done, too; the relationship in this book was fantastically developed and doesn't fall into the traps that a lot of YA debuts suffer from when it comes to pacing out the romance. Yadriel by himself was a little bit timid at first, a little bit quiet and a little bit desperate to prove himself. Once you add Julian and Maritza into the mix, however, the three of them become a force to be reckoned with, and it's incredibly charming watching Julian slowly coax Yadriel out of his shell.

The relationship in this book is SO charming. Yadriel and Julian have got that sun and moon trope thing going on in full-force, and I love love love it. Every scene where the two of them were together was amazing, and then the bit at the end where <spoiler>Julian does the whole "nobody touch him, he's mine" thing when Yadriel is unconscious, even to Yadriel's father</spoiler>?? Please inject that shit directly into my veins, thank you very much. And the way Yadriel slowly, slowly falls for him was SO GREAT. <spoiler>There's a scene right before the first kiss where Julian finally, FINALLY speaks spanish to Yadriel after resisting it the whole book, and Yadriel just <i>melts</i> over his Colombian accent. That whole paragraph gave me chills.</spoiler>

God. Julian just in general. Easily my favorite character in the book. He's such an ADHD disaster and I love him so much for it. I normally don't like it when books suddenly change POV 80% of the way through, but when this book does it and we <i>finally</i> get a bit of insight into the hurricane that is Julian's mind, I was so excited. I could read 1,000,000 words of just Julian being a loveable mess. Again - fanfiction!!

My main issue with this book was the writing style. I felt like a lot of it was written in passive voice, which may only irk me and me alone because of my history working as a technical writing tutor, so I don't know if it's REALLY worth mentioning here, haha. Besides that, though, the prose itself was fairly blah; there were a few cliche metaphors and chunky bits of dialogue/action, but it was always super easy to digest. I had no problems with visualizing anything, or with imagining how a character was acting, or with voicing out dialogue in my head. The first chunk of the book before Julian shows up was also very slow going for me, but I had the same problem with CARRY ON, too, so that could just be a thing that I don't particularly enjoy.

And then the rep!!! I loved loved loved the trans and Hispanic rep in this book. Ownvoices authors just hit differently, you know? I appreciated the way struggling with unaccepting (or slightly accepting) family is addressed in this book, how people that <i>say</i> they're on your side snap and say something to hurt you when they're in a moment of weakness. There was a lot of really heavy stuff tucked away underneath the family dynamics in CEMETERY BOYS, and the fact I was able to see it as a cis guy is something I really valued.

This book was just <i>fun</i>. If you want something to read while trying to decompress from however many hellish months we're all going to be cooped up in our houses, this is your man.

-

(Special thanks to the cool cats over at Macmillan for the NetGalley ARC!!)

There is so much to love about this book that it was difficult for me to decide where to start.

However, with any book, the characters are the most important, so that is where I will begin. Yadriel and Julien were adorable together. Yadriel is serious, smart, and sweet. Julian is a bouncy goof who is somehow so tough and so soft all at once. I enjoyed watching them grow together over the course of the book. I love how strong Maritza is, and I love her dogs. I wish they were real so I could pet them and get one of their enthusiastic greetings. Even the minor characters, whether they got in the way, helped, or foreshadowed something that was coming later, were brought to life with so much detail. I got the impression that all these side characters had a backstory far more detailed than what was visible on the page.

I loved all the queer rep. As a masc-leaning trans nonbinary person, my identity had some overlap with Yadriel's, It was nice to feel seen on the page. I would've loved to have read this book when I was younger, especially because at this point in the story, Yadriel hasn't started any kind of medical transition. It's important to show that trans people are still trans even if they're not on HRT or having surgery.

I also appreciated how the author balanced showing the struggles trans people go through trying to get their families to accept them and use the right words and showing people who were not only open and accepting, but strong allies. The narrative acknowledged the struggles we face, but didn't let them swamp the story.

When I started reading, I had braced myself for a sad ending, but was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't sad at all.

I'm not sure what classes I'm teaching in the fall, but I'm hoping I'll find a way to use this in one of my courses because the writing is beautiful and both the story and rep are so important.

A fantastic and fun read! Yadriel and Julian are original and fully-formed characters. Great for readers who love Nico from the Percy Jackson books.

Why you should get excited for Cemetery Boys:
- This story is set during the Day of the Dead and dives into folklore and traditions surrounding it.
- The protagonist is a gay trans Latinx brujo who can communicate with ghosts (yes, Yadriel is as epic as he sounds).
- The love interest is a ghost (a very, very cute one with chaotic neutral energy).
- These characters have strong “looks like a cinnamon roll and is a cinnamon roll” vibes.
- There are dogs! Dogs, I tell you!

Review:

“You ready?” Julian asked, a curious look on his devastatingly handsome face. “No,” Yadriel confessed, his voice tight.Julian grinned. “Do it anyways.”

I have been trying to put into words how I feel about this masterpiece of a story, but how can I find the right words when I literally just want everyone to check out Aiden Thomas’ Twitter feed that is funnier and more insightful than I could ever dream of being? I cannot, in coherent sentences, explain the awesomeness that is this book (and without screaming and flailing my arms no less), so enjoy this list of bullet points that will hopefully encourage you to pick up this book:

- Magic and paranormal content, oh my! Bestowed by ancient Maya gods, brujx are able to see spirits and communicate with them – it’s even their “job” to help them move on. There is also a lot of discussion about Día de Muertos and its history and Latino traditions involved with that holiday and if you’re a sucker like me and were already obsessed with movies such as Coco or The Book of Life, this deeper dive into the historical background of a vast culture will be just as magical to you!

- The family dynamics: I have never been part of a Latinx family, but after reading Cemetery Boys, I feel like I have. Thomas creates such an immersive experience of the intricacies of relatives that are (sometimes too) close to each other – from the abuela who will force feed you and keep an eye peeled on the staircase to know who’s sneaking out, to fathers not knowing how to talk to their children and uncles who try to keep the peace – all while doing their best to convey how much they love their tight-knit community.

- The discussion of identity: In a very poignant conversation between Julian and Yadriel, they discuss why Yadriel has to prove his gender identity to his family. It’s a central topic of the entire book and it hits home – though perhaps his family’s intentions are benign, not accepting someone for who they are especially when they tell you to your face is hurtful and discouraging. Without spoiling anything, this story takes a close look at what it means to be supportive and how to make transitions easier for the people you love. Yadriel is told time and time again that just because he “decides” to be a boy, does not mean he can become a brujo instead of a bruja in the eyes of Our Lady Death – which obviously isn’t the truth as Yadriel is blessed by her. Above all, Yadriel is just a boy who is trying to find his place in a very conservative community but as someone aptly says in this book, “we should be embracing differences, even if it scares us.”

- One of the biggest parts of this story that has my whole heart is the thoughts Yadriel has about people who keep misgendering him or use his deadname. The fact that he constantly feels like he has to accept everyone’s apologies and how he feels angry about the fact that he shouldn’t feel angry that this keep hurting him – it’s painful to read and realize how many people in this world go through this process day to day and it just resonates – we need to do better. No one should have to fight so hard just to exist.

- The way Julian helps Yadriel feel secure in his identity just broke my heart. There’s this passage in the book where they’re discussing one of Julian’s friends Flaca –

“I mean, Flaca isn’t any less of a girl just because other people look at her and don’t see her as one,” Julian went on. “Just because she’s not on hormones or whatever , or ’cause she’s not ‘passing,’ doesn’t mean other people get to decide who she is. And the same goes for you.” Heat bloomed in Yadriel’s cheeks. “You don’t owe anybody shit,” Julian told him, stormy anger brewing behind dark eyes.”

It’s just so *heart-eyes*. Cemetery Boys breaks through a lot of representational barriers in YA and the fact that anyone out there questioning the validity of their identity will get to read this and so many more passages like this…it just can’t be put into words of how important this feels.

- Intersectionality: In a story focusing on a Latinx gay transgender boy, the topic of intersectionality is going to come up – and Thomas handles the way in which stereotypes and societal expectations can hurt you in such an honest and no-bullshit way: Being transgender and gay had earned Yadriel the title of Head Black Sheep among the brujx. Though, in truth, being gay had actually been much easier for them to accept, but only because they saw Yadriel’s liking boys as still being heterosexual.

- It’s frustrating to read and even more frustrating to live in a world where expectations and rules are posed onto every aspect of one’s identity – and how much these social mores can mess with a person’s head. Reintroducing yourself to your family and having to contend with these expectations is discussed so openly in this novel and will have your mind reeling about all the things we don’t talk about enough.

- Freaking. Diaz: If you ever wondered what it would be like to fall in love with a hot Latino ghost who exudes chaotic energy out of his wazoo, let me introduce you to your new soulmate: Julian. Julian is such a whirlwind – he is lively, noisy, caring and carefree, and bright-eyed and energetic and confuses idioms and has the biggest, softest heart out there. Seriously, he loves everyone – except maybe himself. If I had to compare him to anyone, it’d be Doug from the Disney movie Up “I hid under your porch because I love you” is 100% something Julian would say and you cannot convince me otherwise. The book dives deeper into how we as a society attribute stereotypes and coin people bad boys for being lackluster about school instead of delving deeper into why they are having issues with focusing in school to begin with – and finding solutions instead of condemning people outright.

- Maritza needs to be protected at all costs – the sheer amount of support and encouragement this firehouse of a young woman delivers in this story is off the charts *cue Thank You For Being a Friend* Not to mention that she is a bit of an outsider herself because she does not want to conform to some of the conditions of becoming a bruja and that brings its own troubles with it – and just goes to show that to stand up for yourself will always matter!

- I don’t know how to explain this but I know this story would translate really well onto the screen? Thomas has that atmospheric writing down where you just immerse yourself into the story and whether it’s in Yadriel’s room, the underground where he meets Julian’s found family or in the cemetery preparing everything for Día de Muertos, it all just feels very cinematic and you can picture all these places so vividly in your mind with the way it’s described? *cue here my fingers crossing eternally for a movie or tv adaptation because I would legitimately stop breathing if I ever got to see Yadriel and Julian and that ONE scene in his bedroom*

- And lastly, the actual story just worked so well?! The subplot is a mystery of finding out who killed Yadriel’s cousin and who has been kidnapping teens and hiding their bodies and what the motive for all of this is? – we follow along as Julian loses more and more of his connection to his body and it’s chilling and drives up the stakes to unimagined heights! A real nail-biter!

I want to give this book a never-ending hug. By far one of the most spectacular debut novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Not to be missed!

4.5 stars

There is *so* much to like here. The main character, Yadriel, is a trans man who is aiming for one critical goal: "Be who he was, as he was," as noted toward the end of the novel. Yadriel is unwaveringly likable. He's dealing with layered issues of acceptance not only based on his trans identity but also because another of his identities - Brujx - operates on a gender binary: brujas and brujos. Because certain characters fail to accept Yadriel's gender identity and expression, they also thwart his progression toward being a fully recognized brujo. Oh, and he's Latinx and gay. He is the poster child of intersectionality, and he both benefits from inhabiting these many spaces and suffers from others' lack of understanding and acceptance.

Yadriel's quest for acceptance and his movement toward achieving central and internal goals make for a fascinating narrative on their own, but the secondary characters make this even more fun. Julian and Maritza are particularly awesome (and they're in good company).

At times, the description and/or minutiae of specific scenes feels a bit overwhelming, but while I hoped for a more succinct presentation at times, I never fell out of rooting for Yadriel and most of the folks in his life. Yadriel's identities are handled in a respectful and appropriate way in the sense that the related discussions are not heavy handed; this is who he is, and folks are sometimes accepting and other times not. For me, the ending of this also really works.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and can't wait to share it with my students in a few weeks!

When you're trying to summon the ghost of your cousin and accidentally summon the ghost of a sexy bad boy instead #justbrujothings

This was so good! I've been eagerly awaiting this book since I first saw its beautiful cover on twitter and it did not disappoint. I'm very excited to shove this book at all my friends and the teen patrons at my library. The 2020 YA releases this year are AMAZING.

What can I say about this book? So many feelings and emotions rushed to the surface as I was reading this FANTASTIC novel. Yadriel is part of the Brujx community, wanting to prove that he IS a brujo. His determination shined throughout the entire story. Throughout the plot, I cheered for his success. I loved all of the other characters: Maritza was strong and Julian was such a nice element to the mix. The character development was so well written. The world Aiden created contained such interesting and fantastical mesoamerican elements, bringing Latinx and LGBTQ awareness as well. I have been supporting Aiden since I learned of his story. It doesn't disappoint! Also, the cover is beautiful. 2020 has some AMAZING stories coming out, and I can't wait for the rest of the world to read his work!